Shadows and Moonlight
by Ms. Audrey G
Summary: AU. The Moon Kingdom had been destroyed, more than twenty years ago. It was now just a tale, a reminder to children of the evil the otherworldly beings were. But there lays a rumor that an ally of theirs was searching for the Moon Princess, a princess that everyone knew was dead. But why then was he looking for her? Could it be possible that she was still alive? Usagi doubted it.


**Warning**: This will be dark, gruesome, and have a hint of sexual themes and violence. Be advised that most of what I warn about will probably never occur.

**A/N**: I was given a challenge from t-rex989_._ His challenge was to make Beryl enslave the Moon Kingdom and have the Sailor Scouts as handmaidens. Well, as you will see, I did not go with that, per say. The only thing I kept was the handmaiden idea. The plot was something I worked on entirely on my own-still I give credit to him for giving me an idea. It may not have gone how he originally had hope but I hope he, and the rest of you, enjoy it.

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**Chapter One**

_The Tale of Old_

There once was a tale about the Moon Kingdom, a land so divine that hardly anyone believed it now. The kingdom was bathed in purity and light that even the water glistened under the crystal light. It was a place where the guardians of the planets arrived and made a pledge to protect one another. But the guardian of Earth was not allowed to mingle with their kind.

The earthlings knew naught of the power these guardians held. And as such, for being a nuisance, and a having a lack of mystical power, they casted aside the earthlings as rodents, incapable of understanding the pledges they swore. In fact, they belittled the earthlings, and seeing as they held little mystical power, they wanted to dominate them.

So it came to pass a war ensued.

The earthlings did not have the proper defenses to protect themselves against a stronger force, especially of one who held magic. But their King, the very few who held magic, gave them hope, and casted a light over them, to give them strength equally matched to otherworldly beings.

But his power was insufficient, even as others, like him, passed their power to their warriors. Still they held on to their hope, not wanting to surrender so easily. Yet, in their hearts, they prayed to their goddesses for a miracle.

And that miracle came in a woman, known to many as a dark sorceress. Her name was Beryl, and she was the one who brought destruction to the outer beings. With her dark power, she summoned a vast majority of black crystals—crystals that absorbed and drained their enemy of their power.

At that time, no one questioned Beryl of her power. There was a rumor that she had sold her soul to the dark lord, Hades, in exchange for the power of the universe. Whether or not that was true did not matter.

What mattered was that she was the one who brought their enemies to their knees and rendered them into human beings. And for that, everyone feared her, for she was a sorceress one did not meddle with.

But there was one young woman who did not fear her.

Abandoned as a child, she was left in the bitter cold to die. Then along came a sorceress who saved the baby's life and raised her as her own. And for that, the young woman was grateful and vowed to protect her queen.

For many, she was as dangerous as Beryl. But there laid a few who believed that she was a descendent of the goddess, for her power was not as malicious as the queen's. It was pure, radiant, but deadly to touch. It could even heal the impure, though none have ever seen the young woman used her power in such way.

Still the handmaiden of Beryl was not one to mess with, even if her appearance seemed innocent.

"Usagi."

The handmaiden blinked and looked toward her queen. Beryl stood before her and grabbed a thread of her golden hair, curling it around her finger, before she released it in a spring. Her amber eyes stared directly into her sky-blue, and for a moment, Usagi saw the love she used to carry in those cold eyes. It was hidden quite well, underneath the veil of impassiveness, but she knew that deep down Beryl loved her as a daughter.

She had done a magnificent job with her hair; her red locks tied in a bun, a few loose hairs curled around her cheeks. On the top of her head, the bright, golden crown laid, with a jewels, so enchanting, that it would make the King's wives jealous of having nothing as special as Queen Beryl had.

"Usagi," she called her, tapping her nose.

Usagi blinked and returned her attention to her queen. She had not meant to zone out and look at her queen; it was just that she could not believe that she, a lowly servant, could be compared to her majestic beauty. The townspeople was quite talkative when it came to her. They described her as beautiful, even though she had a burnt scar on the top of her forehead. Still with her pale complexion, her slender, tone body, and her short, wavy blond locks, the people could not deny that she was as beautiful as the queen herself.

If only they could see how blind they were, for the queen was more beautiful than she.

"You would never betray me, right, Usagi?"

Her queen had asked her the same question every day. Ever since those otherworldly beings had arrived, she been bothered immensely by their presence and constantly called her to interrogate her. For that was how it felt like toward Usagi.

What had made the queen to distrust her so suddenly?

But to resolve whatever doubts she had in her mind, Usagi quickly wanted to reassure her that she will never betray her. After all, Beryl was the one who had saved her and had given her a life—and because of that Usagi would do anything to please her queen.

"I will never betray you, Queen Beryl," she said, her tone laced with honesty. "You are my life, and the mother I never had. I will never use these powers to kill you. These powers will only be used to kill our enemy." She then lowered herself on one knee, her head bowed. "I promise that I will kill those who oppose you."

It was difficult to hear the deadly silence, when all Usagi wanted was a confirmation that her queen did trust her. But after seconds went by, she began to wonder if her queen did not trust her enough to give her a response. Alas, she heard the rustling of her dress move, and her sweet aroma lingering behind each retreating step.

"Usagi," she called.

Usagi raised her head and noticed her queen near the door, smiling. She was radiant in her dark dress, a single strap tied around the shoulder, leaving the other bare. The necklace she wore around her neck was from a suitor that pursued her. It held three red rubies in a silver chain, designed to wrap around the stones, and give an ethereal beauty. It was too bad that her suitor was turned away.

"I'm so glad that I have such a loyal servant."

Her heart swelled in pride.

"I will never betray you, Queen Beryl," Usagi repeated, her head bowed once again.

Her queen chuckled and opened the door. With her steps entering the hallway, she turned and called her to follow. And obediently she did, quickly rising to her feet, and dashing to meet her queen's retreating figure. Down the cellar they went and into the dark domain of where their prisoners laid.

The guards were positioned in front of the cell door, their spears held straight before them. As the queen approached, they bowed their heads and moved to a side. They did not follow when she entered the cell. There was no need, after all, not when Usagi lingered behind her, ready to protect their queen.

Still they stood by the door, if anything went wrong.

Usagi doubted it, not when the four women in front of her were powerless under the dark crystal. The room was dimmed, the candle lights barely shed enough light on their enemies. But as she approached, with a lantern in her hand, set to a side on a hook, she noticed the women bore strange clothing. Tight blouses, wavy skirts, a pendent in the middle of their bow, each girl carried a different color to their uniform, perhaps to show the color of their world.

But Usagi did not care of that, not when the Princess of Mars was the first to raise her head and glare at her queen. She was a beautiful creature, that Usagi would admit, but underneath that beauty was a hideous display of rage. Though she did not know the color of her eyes, she could see the wrath in her expression and the frown on her lips. When the other women took notice of their presence, they held a stoic expression, not wanting to give away any emotions.

_It's too bad that Mars did not follow their example_, Usagi thought.

"You think you can fool everyone but I know what you truly are," Mars spoke, with a deep hatred in her tone. "You may have the Dark Moon Clan on your side but they will not stop us from finding her."

Queen Beryl laughed. "You are searching for a dead girl."

"She is not dead!" Mars shouted. She slowly rose on her feet, with a hand clutching her injured side. Blood seeped through her slender fingers, trailing down her thigh and knee. "I will find her, and when I do, I will make sure she fulfills our wish and cut your damn head off!"

Beryl turned on her heel, shaking her head. "You are wasting your time." She then stopped and glanced toward the princess. "She is dead. No one will come to save you and no one will come for my head. In fact, you should pray for your life, for the days to come will be hell."

Her queen had left, leaving Usagi to stare at the women in front of her. As the Princess of Mars glared and cursed under her breath, Usagi inched for her blade, under the frills of her dress, but stopped when her queen called her name.

With a snarl, she left the room and cursed them to hell.

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**A/N:** I've written an outline of how it will start and end. However, there is a sequel after this one. For this is the beginning and the sequel is the end.


End file.
